Second Choices
by Yena S
Summary: Shino and Ino, Two shinobi who've never been anybody's first choice, become bound together in a series of freak events. Shino/Ino
1. Shino Aburame

Heeeeey

_**Heeeeey!  
I started writing this story quite awhile ago.  
It's sort of a challenge, taking two characters who barely know eachother and making them fall in love.  
It's tough, but It's also pretty fun.  
I chose ShinoXIno.  
I think they're both underappreciated characters and sometimes opposites can attract.  
There's also a little bit of pairing off since it takes place in the future when the kids are all about 18-20, and some one-sided love on both characters parts.  
It switches P.O.V. almost every chapter, and some of it happens simultaneoulsy.  
(This chapter is Shino's POV)  
ENJOY! :D**_

--Shino Aburame--

The sun beat down on the three young shinobi, as they passed their favorite training grounds. If this were any other day they would have been running, or jumping through the trees like they did on missions. They could even be practicing their melee skills by trying to go as swiftly and quietly as possible. In fact the quiet boy trailing behind the other two could list exactly twelve much more productive ways they could be heading towards town. He knew it was twelve, because he counted.

His mind worked like a machine, steely, unfeeling, and emotionless. He listed everything out, he thought in words, not pictures, and he never thought of anything normal people would consider exciting or happy.

Because Aburames are never happy.

But like usual, his emotionless train of thought was interrupted by those two.

"Hey Shino, what're you gonna get us?"

Kiba yelled back at him, his arm casually slung around Hinata, his girlfriend of two years. She blushed, and looked up at Kiba like he had just done something amazing, like saved her life, or lifted a car. The couple waited for Shino's answer, but it never came.

"Hey Shino!"

Kiba yelled louder, even though it was obvious Shino was ignoring him.

"HEY SHINO!!"

Shino debated whether or not to just kill Kiba already, but decided against it

…barely

Instead he finally caved and answered the dog boy.

"What."

"What're you gonna get us?"

"What?"

"What're you gonna get us for our anniversary?"

"…"

"Oh, c'mon Shino! Don't tell me you forgot!"

He hadn't forgotten, how could he, with them constantly reminding him with their annoying lovey dovey antics. He was just confused as to why he had to get them a gift. He knew their two year anniversary was the reason they hadn't done any training today. He was already angry enough as it was that they'd taken away his time to train and made him come with them for their anniversary shopping. He didn't want to go and Kiba didn't care either way, but Hinata had asked him to come, so here he was. She'd convinced Kiba that he had wanted to come, but Shino and Hinata both knew the real reason he was invited was to supervise Kiba.

"Shino? Hey, Shino!"

Kiba yelled once again looking back at the strange boy.

Shino sighed and finally decided to answer.

"I thought my coming was a gift."

Kiba cracked a smile, and starting laughing wildly.

Shino glared at him. Why was he laughing? He was being serious; he had gone out of his way to go on this stupid shopping trip with them. Hinata noticed the look on his face and laughed nervously, jabbing Kiba in the stomach.

"Oh, um just ignore him Shino, your coming with us _is_ enough."

She smiled warmly, looking him in the eye. She never used to. She'd changed over the past years; she was no longer as shy and definitely not weak.

Kiba had changed her.

Both boys had figured out she liked Naruto pretty early on.  
It was no big mystery after all.  
Shino knew long before Kiba for…obvious reasons.  
She was crushed when Naruto started dating Sakura.  
After seeing them together she became even more sheepish and for awhile, couldn't even find the courage to speak. She slowly became weaker, messing up on some of the simplest jutsus and missions; it frustrated Shino to no end watching Hinata fail, just because her heart wasn't in it.  
One day after _another_ failed mission she stopped showing up for training all together. They both worried about her and although Shino didn't show it, Kiba definitely did. When he found out she was considering quitting being a ninja, he feverishly tracked her down.

Shino knew all of this because Kiba had told him many times, always against his will. But no matter how many times he did, he always told the next part with a strange far-away look in his eyes. He said that when he finally found Hinata she was tear-stained and trembling. She looked up with those big watery eyes, and she was so beautiful and sad that he just scooped her up in his arms.

He claimed he didn't even say a word, he just held her.  
But the next day, sure enough, Hinata returned to training.  
Day by day, regaining her old self, with just one slight difference.  
Kiba became the one that she watched admiringly.

Everyday Hinata seems happier than before. She barely even stuttered anymore, and then only when she was uncomfortable. She seemed to have a newfound determination and self-esteem. She'd even stood up to Neji and the rest of the Hyuuga's numerous times. They were so impressed with her sudden change, that they had begun to respect her as the rightful heiress to the clan.  
HyuugShe really had changed.

But it wouldn't last.  
Or at least that's what Shino always thought.

Any day now Hinata and Kiba would break up.  
The Aburame always told himself, but every day they showed up smiling and holding hands…  
Not that Shino cared.  
Relationships are only for baring children in order to keep the clan's name going.

That's the only reason Aburames get married. His parents never loved each other, he knew this for certain. Shino assumed that they'd never even met until the day before their wedding.  
That's the way most Aburames got married, and someday Shino would too.

He remained lost in his thoughts for the rest of the walk. Thankfully the other two were too busy enjoying each others company to bother him anymore. But all good things must come to an end, and pretty soon they tried pulling him back into the conversation. Shino had been so lost in thought he didn't realize they'd arrived at the markets. He scorned himself and made a mental note to pay better attention. Good ninja's always observe their surroundings.

"Alright, um, please get something nice for me Kiba!"

"I'll try, bye Hinata!"

He grabbed her and planted a kiss on her cheek. It wasn't anything major, but it was enough to make her blush fiercely. When Kiba finally released her, they parted ways. Hinata looked back at Shino and mouthed

"Make sure he gets something good!"

Shino nodded, even though he knew he wouldn't have to help. He never did, and as much as Hinata couldn't believe it, Kiba always picked her gifts out himself. He knew what she would like, and all year around he saved up money for all kinds of things he wanted to get her.  
Shino never would have pegged Kiba as the romantic type.

The boys watched her walk away, and when she was out of earshot Kiba spun excitedly around to face Shino.

"Check this out!"

His hand dove into his pants pocket, and when he found what he was looking for he proudly thrust it at Shino's face.

Shino cocked an eyebrow

"Worm pills?"

"What?" Kiba pulled the pills away from Shino's face and laughed.

"Oh, oops that's for Akamaru. Haha, wonder what Hinata'd say if I got her those huh? Hahaha!"

"She'd probably dump you."

Shino said in his dead-pan.

"Wooooah, Shino you just made a joke, awesome!"

The dog boy gave him a hearty pat on the back. Shino cringed.

"Oh yeah, Hinata's present!" Kiba suddenly remembered, diving back into his pockets for her gift. He pulled out what looked like something that had once been edible.

"No, wait, that's not it…" He pulled out a few other odd and practically destroyed items before he found what he was looking for.

"Aha! Check out this beauty!"

He gently slid out a small velvet box. Shino watched as he carefully opened it. He smiled broadly as he held it up for Shino to see. A little too close for Shino's comfort.

He stepped back a little and scanned the ring. Even Shino had to admit it was nice.

"What do ya think? Do you think she'll like it?"

Kiba said energetically, his eyes wide with excitement.

Shino took a closer look at the ring. The band was made up of three different shades of silver interwoven in an extremely intricate pattern. The silver bands met in the front where there were five stones, each in different shades of pastel purple and white. Very fancy, it was even fancier than an engagement ring.  
Shino had no idea Kiba had that much money

"It looks very expensive." Shino finally said

"Damn right, I've been saving up forever to get this! That's why I've been going on all those missions lately!"

Shino handed the ring back to him

"If you already have her gift, why are we shopping?"

"To get flowers! Duh, Shino!"  
Kiba said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"God you don't know anything about chicks, do you?"

"Not really." Shino admitted.

Kiba laughed at his confession, which inadvertently angered Shino.

But he trudged along beside his hyper companion anyways. The dog boy was being especially annoying today. As they neared the flower shop, he started acting strange.  
He didn't even seem to be aware that his tongue was lolling out of his mouth, and he was making sounds much like a nervous puppy. Shino glanced around and sighed when he realized he wasn't the only one who had noticed. He lagged behind the crazy dog boy, trying to lose him in the crowd, but Kiba made sure that didn't happen. He dove into the crowd, knocking several people over, and dragged Shino out by his arm. Several bystanders laughed, but Kiba didn't seem to hear them. As they neared the flower shop Kiba seemed lost in his own thoughts, which was a welcome change for Shino. He had some thoughts of his own, such as where Akamaru was. But he didn't say anything, at first.

A few minutes passed, and Shino started to feel uncomfortable. He looked over at Kiba, whose face looked rather pale.

_Say something._

Shino thought, not believing that he had actually just wished for Kiba to speak to him.

_Say something!_

He thought again, sliding his hands into his pockets. He never realized how uncomfortable it is when someone who is constantly talking finally shuts up.

He couldn't believe he was doing this, he took a deep breath.

"Akamaru..."

Kiba stopped and looked back at Shino with a strange look on his face.

"What about him?'

Shino shifted nervously "Where is he?"

"Oh, I left him at home; I wanted this day to just be about Hinata and me, and with his size, he kind of gets in the way of our dates."

They just stood there for a second. Shino hating himself for trying to start a conversation, and making things even more uncomfortable. Kiba still weakly staring off into the distance.  
When suddenly Kiba spoke again.  
"Aha! We're here!"  
He said with less enthusiasm than he usually had.  
What was wrong with him today?  
Shino looked up at the store front.

_Yamanaka flowers. _

Kiba pushed past him while he paused to think.

_Yamanaka?_  
He knew he had heard that name somewhere before.  
He tried to remember, but was distracted by Kiba pulling him inside. When he got over the shock of being forced into the store, he looked around; the shop was positively brimming with all kinds of flowers. Their smells intermingled into a sickeningly sweet aroma.  
Shino frowned.  
He hated strong smells.  
Especially _sweet_ ones.

Kiba rang the service bell at least twenty times before finally noticing the sign on the desk.

"BE BACK IN 10 MINUTES, SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE!"

He read uncomfortably loudly.

"Well that sucks! I'm supposed to meet Hinata for our Anniversary dinner in like thirty minutes, I can't wait that long!"

"The sign says 10 minutes…" Shino reasoned

sigh "God Shino! Everyone knows that when one of those signs says 10 minutes it always takes at least an hour _and_ 10 minutes for the person to get back. Some ninja _you_ are."  
Kiba retorted, as if this was _actual_ common knowledge.

"That makes no sense…"  
Shino replied, but was cut off by Kiba's bitching

"GOD THIS SUCKS! Oh I wish I could wait here…."

He pouted, obviously hinting around for Shino to wait here for him.

"…"

"God, I really want to get her some flowers too…."

"…"

"If only someone could wait here for me…."

"…"

Shino shifted uncomfortably, he didn't want to wait in here, and the smell was already making him nauseous.

"Well….I-I guess we should j-just go…."

Kiba sighed, obviously trying to drum up sympathy.

"Ok."

Shino replied, flinging the door open.

"Oh C'mon Shino! just wait here, pleeeaaaase!?"

Shino frowned, one way or another it would just be less difficult if he caved…like always.

"Fine."

Kiba smiled excitedly and darted out of the flower shop.

"THANKS SHINO! YOU'RE A GREAT FRIEND!"

Shino grimaced

Aburames don't have friends.


	2. Ino Yamanaka

--3 Ino Yamanaka 3--

--3 Ino Yamanaka 3--

_Today is going to be a great day._

_I can feel it!_

The vivacious blonde thought to herself as she bounded down the road.  
She'd just completed her daily ritual, wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, wash face, and style hair into mandatory ponytail.  
But for today she'd taken extra care to apply _just_ the right amount of make-up.

Normally she would go train for about an hour or so, but today was a special day.  
Today she was going to confess her true feelings to the man she loved.

_Nara Shikamaru._

She smiled to herself as she said his name.

_  
Nara Ino…_

_Ino Nara…_

_  
Hmmm…  
_

Her smile faded as she realized how the two names clashed. But it wasn't enough to dampen her spirits for long.

_  
Oh well, maybe he should just take my last name instead!_

She giggled to herself.

_Yamanaka Shikamaru…_

_Shikamaru Yamanaka…  
_

She sighed, that didn't sound a whole lot better.  
But that wasn't important right now.

Ino was determined, and once she set her mind to something she'd try her damndest!  
No matter how hopeless it is, just like it was with Sasuke.

_Sasuke…  
_

She felt a cold chill run through her as she thought about him. It had been over a year since his death.  
Killed by his very own teammates.  
Upon their return, they were treated as heroes.  
No one held anything against them; except Ino.  
She felt like she could never forgive them.  
When they returned she couldn't even look at them.  
Eventually they had become friendly again, but her and Sakura's relationship was a thin one.  
To her Sakura was a completely different person.

Not to mention she was dating _that_ idiot.

Ugh… Ino thought to herself.

The only reason they were dating was because Naruto couldn't ever find anyone that would have him, and Sakura was desperately trying to find someone to fill the gap that Sasuke left, even though he didn't even like her.  
Ino was still convinced that Sasuke had always liked her better, no matter how misguided that notion was.

Their hopeless battle over Sasuke was just like their fight in the chuunin exam preliminaries.

A double knockout.

But none of that mattered now. All of those events had led her to realize who her true love really was. This time she was going to fight a battle that she actually had a chance to win, and wanted to win even more.

_Shikamaru…  
_

A slight blush creeped across her face at the thought of him.  
She wondered what it would be like to kiss him.  
It'd probably be amazing.  
Deep and passionate.  
She could see it all in her minds eye.  
_She'd probably find him in his usual place, where he would be gazing dreamily at the clouds. She'd approach him, calling out his name. He'd turn ready to say some smart-ass comment, but then suddenly stop. Realizing the look of sincerity in her eyes (and how smokin' hot she was). Then she would sheepishly say "Shikamaru…I-I have something to tell you…" He'd put his hand on her shoulder and softly ask "What is it Ino?" She would look away dramatically, the back of her hand on her forehead in classic soap opera style. "I have a confession to make!" she would blurt out. He would cup her face in his hands, forcing her to make eye contact "It's okay, you can tell me anything, my sweet Ino..." She would admit her love for him with watery eyes, and he would in turn confess his secret undying love for her, then they would embrace, and merrily skip off into the sunset together. La la la!_

Ino sighed dreamily at her own wonderful imagination. Her crazy ideas only fueled her conquest. She began to run faster, frantically searching for the lazy ninja.  
_Her_ lazy ninja.

After searching everyplace she passed, she slowly started to get discouraged. But she wasn't about to give up yet, especially since she hadn't checked his favorite spot yet.

…_hmm_

Why _hadn't_ she checked his favorite spot yet?

She sighed, deep down she knew why.  
She was afraid of what he would say.  
As much as she liked her version of her confession, she couldn't really predict what would happen.

She gritted her teeth. Kunoichi's don't have fear! She was going to go into this like the ninja she was. She changed direction and headed straight to his favorite spot. She was going faster than ever, slowly gaining momentum.

_Almost there.  
_

She thought, still maintaining her insane pace. She took a tremendous leap and went soaring through the air; she landed gracefully and barreled on, all the while not making a single sound.

She smiled to herself, thanking her long hours of practicing flying through the trees for her upcoming jounin exam. Her mind snapped back into the present as she began to see the opening, so close! She closed her eyes for a moment to gain composure.

_Today is a good day…_

She thought as she accidentally slammed headfirst into something.  
Something…human!

She couldn't focus for a moment, as she lay there flat on her back.  
Slowly she started to see white fluffy clouds floating slowly overhead.

_Hmm, pretty._

No wonder Shika liked to look at them so much…

_Who'd I run into?_ She thought.

_Wait...!_

Her mind racing, she realized just who it was.

_OH NO! _

"SHIKAMARU?!"

She shouted, bolting upright in the soft grass.

"Guess again!"

Answered a voice that _definitely _didn't belong to her true love.

She looked up to find the third member of her team.

_Oh thank god!_

She thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief.

He held out his hand, and she took it, hoisting herself up. She was relieved it wasn't Shikamaru, but still felt bad for crashing into her old friend.

"Sorry Chouji, are you okay?" She asked, brushing herself off

"Don't worry about it, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite sturdy!"  
She looked him over, guiltily remembering he had recently been injured.

"Are you sure?! H-how about your leg?" She asked shakily.

He waved her worries away "No, I'm fine, don't worry about it Ino!"

She smiled in relief, she really was lucky to have such a great team. Remembering why she had crashed into him in the first place, the blonde looked around; realizing Shikamaru wasn't here after all.

"Hey Chouji, do you know where Shikamaru is?"

He thought for a moment. Reaching for his bag of potato chips.

"Oh yeah, I remember he told me he was thinking about going to Ichiraku's for lunch today, you might wanna check there."

Ino gulped.

Stupid nerves…

_C'MON INO YOU CAN DO THIS! CHA!_

Ino mentally shouted to herself, pumping one of her fists into the air. Her eyes burning with undeterred determination!

Chouji cocked an eyebrow at the familiarly resolute look on her face. One he hadn't seen for awhile, not since Sasuke went AWOL.  
He almost said something about it, but quickly stopped himself, remembering that speaking about Sasuke was taboo nowadays.  
Especially around one of his former fan girls.

She noticed the amused look on his face and raised her own eyebrow

"What's so funny?"

He looked as if he was about to answer, but instead just shook his head at his bossy teammate.

"It's nothing…"

She perched her hands on her hips in classic Ino fashion

"What? C'mon tell me!"

Chouji chuckled

"It's nothing; you just seem very hell-bent on something."

Her right hand left its usual spot on her hip, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"Well, you're right on the mark Chou."

"Hmm, this wouldn't have anything to do with Shikamaru would it?"

He asked, popping open his bag of chips.

Ino tried to hide the blush that tinted her face

"N-NO! I mean…MIND YOUR OWN BUISNESS DAMNITT!"

She sputtered; crossing her arms.

Chouji smiled and nudged her with his elbow

"Good luck, Ino."

"Shut up…" she quickly shot back

"Well, I've gotta go train, I'm learning a new technique today."

Chouji said turning away from the Kunoichi.

"Okay, well in that case, good luck!"

She said turning away as well; she hesitated for a moment before adding

"Just take it easy, okay? That injury was…"  
she trailed off.

Chouji pretended not to hear that last part, saddened by his teammate's guilty conscience.

"Good luck with Shikamaru!"

He said, grinning back at her.

"SHUT UP!"

She hollered, darting to the nearest tree branch.

Chouji shook his head and walked towards the training grounds.  
He could tell Ino still blamed herself for his injury, sure if she wouldn't have hesitated to jump in front of their opponent in the first place it probably wouldn't have happened. But he didn't blame her. He couldn't begin to count the times she had saved his ass before that, and he wouldn't have wanted to fight that guy either. The thought of that day still gave them chills.

He looked back up at the place Ino had just flown off too. He shook his head a second time. No matter how many times Chouji told her Shikamaru didn't like her like that, she never listened. He sighed to himself.  
"Poor Ino, always falling for the wrong guys."

As Ino flew through the trees she didn't even remember Chouji's warnings and advice. No matter how many times he had proved that he knew Shikamaru through and through; Ino was convinced she knew him better.

She darted from branch to branch, getting closer and closer to her love. She finally reached Ichiraku's mentally praising herself for making a ten minute trip in less than two.

Once again thanks to all of the training she'd been doing in preparation for the upcoming jounin exam.

She gracefully leaped off of the branch, and landed right outside the ramen shack. Scaring some onlookers as she seemed to drop out of the sky.  
But she didn't have time to apologize; she took a deep breath, and stepped into the shop.

There he was.

_B-bmp_

She could feel her heart rate slowly increasing

_B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp_

She slowly approached him

_B-Bmp, B-bmp, B-Bmp, B-bmp_

He must have sensed her presence, as he turned to look right at her.  
_Ohhh! That face_!

_B-BUMP, B-BUMP, B-BUMP!_

"Hey Ino." He said casually

"Uh, h-hey Shika-Kun!" she blurted out, immediately cursing herself.

_  
Oh god, you sound like Hinata! Get a grip Ino! This is Shikamaru! You've known him practically your whole life, so what if you're in love with him? ACT LIKE INO DAMNITT!_

She decided to suck it up, and fake it.  
If she couldn't act like her usual self today she'd just have to fake it!  
She threw her shoulders back, and strutted up to the bar like she owned the place. Not one person in Ichiraku would have guessed that her heart was racing a thousand miles per hour.

"So what're you doing here Shika-kun?" She said playfully, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Eating Ramen. You want some?" he asked, slurping down some of his meal

"Oh, none for me thanks." She answered, gracefully taking a seat next to her teammate.

She tried to hold her expression steady, fighting off her fangirlish thoughts.

_Oh he's so cute offering to share his ramen with me! _She squealed inside her head.

"Okay." He said as he went back to eating his ramen

A few moments of strangely awkward silence passed. Shikamaru was his usual cool self. Paying little attention to his surroundings.

Meanwhile the usually confident Ino was going through mental hell.

_OH MY GOD!! SAY SOMETHING!! Talk about his interests! Shougi? Go? Clouds? Oh my god that would sound retarded! DAMNIT INO! THINK!!_

Then it hit her like a lightning bolt

"Say Shikamaru, I'm thinking of taking the jounin exam this time around."

That finally seemed to peak his interests a bit.

"Oh really? So that's why you've been training so hard lately."

"Yeah, I figured it's about time I finished with my training and finally started going on missions professionally. I think I may even join the ANBU…"

"Haha, yeah."

Ino's eyebrow twitched

"What're you laughing for?"  
she queried, crossing her arms

"I just can't imagine _you_ being in the ANBU, they're so serious and…deadly."

She fought the urge to hit him upside the head. She may be in love with him, but he could still be so annoying sometimes!

"Well I may not be the serious type, but I'm a whole lot deadlier than you think Shika!"

Shikamaru gave his teammate a sideways glance, and saw her fiery determination.

"Hm, so you really are serious about that, huh?" He leaned back in his chair a bit, contemplating Ino as an ANBU member.

"Well, you would be pretty useful with your Shintenshin no Jutsu, you could be a very valuable spy."

Ino unfolded her arms and blushed at her teammates praise. It was rare for Shikamaru to be this kind to her.

"That's not the only jutsu I can do nowadays." She bragged, feeling her usual confidence rushing back into her.

Shikamaru raised a curious eyebrow

"Oh really? What else have you learned?"

"A true kunoichi doesn't flaunt her abilities"  
She teased  
"Maybe you'll get to see it on our next mission."  
She smiled, hoping that Shikamaru was looking forward to it as much as she was.  
But one look at his face told her that he wasn't.  
He looked down, setting his chopsticks on top of his bowl.  
"About that…"  
He started, still not looking his cheerful teammate in the eyes. "Ino, I don't think team ten's going to be doing any missions together for awhile…"

"W-what? Why?" Ino asked, worried that she knew why.

"Well, I've got a lot of responsibilites nowadays, what with Asuma…dead…"  
He explained, choking on the final word. Ino felt a pang of sadness in her heart, but it was soon lost in the sea of panic, because she knew that she had let them down in their last mission. What if they want to be a team anymore, what if they didn't want _her_ anymore?

"I've decided to take his place as the leader of the Niju Shotai."  
For the first time since he broke the news, he looked Ino in the eye.  
She blushed under his gaze, but couldn't think of anything to say.  
She was caught off guard

_S__ince when did Shikamaru have goals?_

"…and in order to do that, I too have to become a jounin."

"Well that's no problem team ten can take the exam together!"

Shikamaru looked down once more, it irritated Ino that he couldn't seem to keep eye contact with her tonight.

"No, we can't." He said quietly,

Ino waited for his explanation, but it didn't come quick enough,

"Why not, do you think I can't handle the exam?!"

She shouted, feeling hurt that her teammate still didn't believe in her abilities  
"Is that it Shika?!"  
She felt on the verge of tears as her failure in their last mission replayed in her head.

_A flash of white, the sickenking sound of impact, skin breaking and bone crunching_

"_CHOUJI!"_

_Shikamaru yelled running towards his blood splattered teammate_

_Ino's eye's widened, it was her fault_

"_Ino! Why didn't you do anything!? Why didn't you do anything!?__"_

_Her fault_

"_WHY DID YOU JUST STAND THERE?!"_

_All her fault_

Shikamaru grabbed her wrist, snapping her out of her torturous memory.  
He looked upset, knowing what she was thinking about.  
He regretted yelling at her like that, no matter how much she'd deserved it.

"Ino, it's not that, not at all." He reassured her, letting go of her wrist.

She frowned as he let go, but a wave of relief washed over her, knowing he had another reason.

"It's the jounin exam, usually they're solo exam's, and shinobi can be assisted by their teammates, without actually being on a team with them, but this year for some reason. The Jounin exams are being held in teams of two…"

Ino felt a smile tickling the corners of her mouth,

_Teams of two…_

She imagined her and Shikamaru, trying to survive such a difficult exam. Only eachother to count on! Fighting side-by-side, eating side-by-side…sleeping side-by-side….

She had made up her mind, she was going to ask Shikamaru to take the exam with her!

Her eyes must have shown her intentions, because Shikamaru cut her off, before she could ask.

"So Chouji and I are taking them together."

Her face fell, Her dream crumbled, she tried to take in what she had just heard.

When she said nothing, he continued

"And after that…I'm going to be stationed in Sunagakure for awhile."

Ino was flabberghasted, why would he need to go to Suna? Why?

"WHY!?" She finally managed to ask, fighting back tears.

"Well," He swallowed hard  
"I want to be with my fiancee'…"

He prepared himself for the beating he was about to receive, but it never came. He looked up to find Ino with her back to him. "Ino…" He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. He knew this wouldn't be easy. But suddenly she turned around, a warm smile plastered on her face "Congratulations! I didn't know you were engaged!"

"Uhm, yeah about a month ago…" He replied caught off guard by her strange behavior

"Well, I gotta go, nice talking to you Shikamaru!"

"Uh, you too…bye Ino."

She walked out the door as confidently as she had walked into it. But as soon as she was enveloped in the shade of the trees, her shoulder's slumped, her eyes welled up, and her fists clenched.

But there was no way in hell she was gonna let that bastard see her cry!

She bolted into the tree's and went to head back home

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

_I'm so stupid!_

She thought, tears now freely streaming down her face.

What was it about her.

What made her fall for all the beautiful jerks that could never love her back?

What was it that made every guy turn her down?

What was wrong with her?

It was during her tearful, silent journey through the woods, that she made a solemn promise.

"Never again will I fall for a guy like_**THAT**_!"


	3. Flowers That Bind Pt 1

------------------------------------*_Shino Aburame_*-----------------------------------------------

_Tick._

He waited.

_Tock._

He breathed in the pungent aroma of thousands of budding flowers.

_Tick._

He was nearly going insane.

_Tock._

A sudden light-headedness had come over him and his eyelids began slipping shut.

He was suddenly wrenched with the fear that he would die here.

He took another deep breath and felt it catch in his throat.

He panicked, with all the strength he could muster he instinctually tried to jump up onto his strong legs. But this time something went wrong, his legs felt weak and nearly gave out on him. In his fragrance induced delirium he stumbled and fell into a small glass cabinet, then onto the floor.

The loud crash he made was only drowned out by a booming female voice

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

He tried to get up, he really did, but the sweet smells wafting through the air blocked out the noise and soon his eyes shut.

----------------------------------------3 Ino Yamanaka 3------------------------------------------

Ino had tried to maintain a positive attitude. She really had, but it seemed the universe had ways of dropping things unexpectedly in her lap.

She heaved a heavy sigh as she tied her apron back on and tried to wash out all thoughts of Nara Shikamaru from her mind. And Chouji, that bastard.

Now, not only was she heartbroken, but her dreams of becoming a Jounin had also been compromised.

She should've known she'd be the odd one out.

She wiped the last drop out of the corner of her eye and went out onto the shop floor. Her nimble hand turned her "back in ten minutes sign around". She heard a customer shuffling around the store and felt jolt of guilt. She'd been gone for at least an hour and _ten minutes._ She went to open her mouth to greet them when she heard a large crash, and all that came out was

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

She stormed towards the customer to find him on the ground struggling, then suddenly still. She felt a chill and leaned down to check his pulse. Luckily he still had one, she looked at the man, realizing he wasn't a man at all but a teenager around her age. She pulled back his hood to check what caused his sudden fall and immediately recognized him.

"Shino?"

She shook her head at the universe for dropping this into her lap at such an inopportune time. It was then that a slight shimmer of gold caught her eye and horror burned in her stomach. Underneath the wreckage of the small cabinet lay a smashed family heirloom.

A beautiful, carefully cultivated lotus flower brought from her families homeland.

_"Each Yamanaka woman is given one for their wedding, yours is growing right now!"_

_Her mother smiled that bright smile she always had. And Ino's eyes grew as big as saucers._

_"Wow!" she marveled_

_She scrunched her eyebrows together and asked_

_"Well what do Yamanaka boys get?"_

_Her mother pulled a beautiful flower out of her hair, and leaned down to show her curious daughter._

_" Each Yamanaka man is given one to propose marriage to the girl they love."_

_Ino smiled as her mom handed her the extraordinary flower._

_"Your father gave me this one many years ago."_

_She giggled and then looked up at her mother._

_"Someday I'll share mine with someone!"_

That last phrase echoed in her mind, as she heard it crumble  
There on the ground crunched beneath Shino's elbow, lay Ino's flower.  
She sank to her knees and couldn't help but sob mad, furious tears.  
This had to be a sign; Ms. Ino Yamanaka was destined to die alone. A miserable, lonely, chuunin!  
She suddenly felt overcome with anger at the freak that had ruined the symbol of her future with someone. She decided she wanted something in return. She reached out with the intention of solving a mystery she'd always been curious about, and went for his goggles. But she was interrupted by spindly fingers slapped around her wrist.  
she jumped, and heard a breathy

"No..."

She retracted her arm and stood up curtly,partly embarrassed for getting caught, and partly embarassed by the tears stained to her face.  
(So naturally, she took it out on him.)

"So…if you're well enough to defend your freakin' goggles, then you're well enough to get up!" she said with a slight kick to his side.

He groaned and tried to sit up, but he was suddenly over come with a very strong and unrelenting scent. He felt a terrible aura around him.  
Ino looked down in horror as her wedding flower emitted a trail of violet colored pollen. It raised and encircled shino's head, he started coughing terribly and convulsing. A look of panic shrouded his usually stoic features.

She shrieked as the boy shook violently and then went still again.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus, but I just finally got my piece of shit computer "fixed" for the billionth time.  
I haven't forgotten these stories!  
Tune in next time for PT. 2


	4. Flowers That Bind Pt 2

**Hey, Long time no see! My old computer burned out long ago, which explains my absence. I am now typing from my sisters laptop. I am still committed to this! I will finish all the glorious chapter, there's many more to come! I came back in my surprise to many wonderful comments, and some good question! Here goes!**

Ox King: Thank you so much! I was hoping something so made up could sound convincing!  
Karma Kat 281: Haha Shino is so much fun to make freak out. It's something kinda like that, or is it? Dun dun dun!  
josh: It's right here! :D  
Liz: Well computers seem to hate me, but my sisters laptop is sturdy! Thanks so much!  
DeiDeiArtistic: Of course! I promise!  
HyperActivePsycho: YOOUUUGGGOOOTTIITTT! :D  
AbsolutelyLover: Why thank you! I plan on it!  
Everything but nothing: Hope it meets your expectations! I shall! Please don't die! :,( lol  
Turtle the second: Shino is a silly one, that's why he's so fun to write! I certainly would have done that lol. Thank you very much, I like to think Shino is like this deep down! Haha I promise no meteorites hit Konoha, I will finish this! :D  
TopazDragon: Hope this chapter clears up why he passed out lol, I read in a Naruto fact book that he hates strong tastes and smells. So I sort of embellished…a lot. haha  
Madame Wesker: From one fangirl to another, I thank you for reading and promise to finish!  
Shelvesinthecloset: I know, I know. Harsh is my style but there is a reason they're both edgy! _**Especially**_** Shino, read on!**

_Shino Aburame_

He awoke with a start, the last thing he remembered being the sensation that he couldn't breathe.  
He clutched his throat and slowly opened his eyes.  
He tried to remember what had taken place, slowly the events played back in his mind.

_That poor girl._

He thought momentarily, until he moved slightly and felt the sting of the swift kick she left on his side. No, poor girl didn't fit her well at all.  
If anything, she was a sad girl.  
He remembered the hazy last moments when she had stood over him crying, it was all very confusing.  
In his daze he felt like he was only half aware of what he was doing, which was a scary notion to anyone as self-controlled as an Aburame.  
He heard the door to his room click open, revealing Shizune whom he presumed was his physician.

"Well hello there, sleepy head!" She chirped.

Shino nodded in her direction, choosing not to dignify her cheerful joking with an answer. She smiled and looked over his chart.

"Well now that you're awake and there appears to be nothing wrong with you, you are free to go! Or stay and rest up for a little while if you want."

Shino looked confused, or at least as confused as a mostly expressionless boy could look. Shizune hadn't noticed and continued to babble on about something. Shino had to interrupt;

"Wait, what happened to me then?"

She looked down at him.

"You came in contact with a poisonous flower, well poisonous to certain kinds of insects anyways. It's no surprise that an Aburame like you would be sensitive to it."

Shino stared at her, still confused as to exactly what had happened.  
Shizune noticed _this_ time and smirked.

"But enough from me, you have some visitors that would be more than happy to explain what happened to you."

She walked away laughing. Shino felt his throat tighten, he certainly did not like the sound of that.

-Ino Yamanaka-

She sat in the waiting room with her head in her hands.  
It was a familiar position for any shinobi, she'd been in the same spot not too long ago herself when Chouji was wounded.  
But this time was much different.  
Instead of the usual horrible feeling of fear and worry and helplessness, she was filled with a new horrible feeling of anger.  
Anger at Shino for ruining her wedding flower,  
anger at the fact that she would surely never get married anyways,  
and therefore anger at the fact that she was angry in the first place.  
But the angry red cherry on top of the cake was the idiot that was talking her ear off while she was attempting to silently steep.

"Will you shut up already?" She finally piped.

The boy was taken aback for only a slight second before he was back at it.

"Geez Ino, what crawled up your ass?"

Kiba quipped back, snorting in hysterical laughter at his own joke.

"Ugh, gross" she moaned under her breath, _snorting? really?  
_  
"What?" Kiba yelled, still laughing slightly

"God, what does hinata see in you?" Ino yelled back, hoping to finally shut him up.  
It worked. For about three seconds

"You know Ino, I really couldn't tell ya…"

She stared at him, surprised by his genuinely honest answer

"But I sure am glad she sees something." He finished, with a slight smile on his face.

Ino continued to stare and say nothing. What could she say to that? Her face fell back into her hands and she sighed

_Is everyone happy but me?_

"Hey you too!"  
Shizune strolled cheerfully out into the lobby, breaking Ino's silence much to her delight.

"He woke up, you two can say hi if you want."

"Bout time!" Kiba yelled

Ino shot up without a word and marched towards his room.  
She would have preferred Kiba stay here first while she had a word with him, but of course she expected him to bounce along behind her. It didn't matter anyways, it's not like she knew Shino on a personal level. The two of them had never even really talked.

Maybe having his teammate there would be helpful after all.  
_…when I rip his face off!  
_She thought to herself__

_Shino Aburame_

He only had to wait for a minute or two before his guests arrived.  
But he couldn't help wondering who it was.  
She'd said guests, as in plural.  
From experience he knew one of them would be Kiba.  
He was already expecting him to get Hinata's flowers and when he didn't show up he'd be looking for him. As Shino well knew, if Kiba wanted to find someone, they got found.  
As for the other one..

_Hinata..  
_  
He certainly didn't want to see her.  
Well, that was a lie and he knew it.  
He sighed, not knowing if he could handle the happy couple right now.  
But as he heard the door click once again, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

He braced himself, but for entirely the wrong thing.

As blonde hair bobbed through the door, underneath it lied a scowling face.  
Followed by half of his guess, the ever rambunctious Kiba who was smirking from ear to ear.  
This pair nearly confused his senses .

"Hey Shino, are you okay after that vicious flower attack? Haha"  
Kiba laughed, Shino's brows furrowed.

"Man, after all the attacks we've been under by enemy ninja it's a freakin' flower that lands you in the hospital!"  
Shino's head began to hurt, which could have been a side effect of the poison, but more likely it was Kiba. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Shut up Kiba! Shino and I have a score to settle." I  
no shouted, forcefully enough to actually shut him up.

She strode to stand over Shino, her arms crossed, her overall appearance menacing.  
Shino couldn't help but feel the slight bit threatened.

"YOU!" She began,

Kiba left standing near the door, looked surprised and eager to find out what Shino could have ever done to anger Ino, of all people.

"YOU!" she screamed again, "You bastard! Do you know what you fucking did?"

Shino stared up at her flabbergasted

"Not entirely.." He replied honestly.

"Really? Why am I not surprised? Your DRUNK ASS crashed into my cabinet and crushed something very precious to me!"

Shino could feel himself turning slightly red, he certainly didn't remember that, he certainly wasn't drunk, and he certainly didn't like being yelled at.

"Woah, Shino! HAHA no freakin way, drinkin in the afternoon?" Kiba supplied, as the peanut gallery.

"NO! I was not drunk, Kiba you know I do not drink."

Ino leaned slightly towards him, snapping near his face to get his attention  
"No! Ignore Kiba right now! I'M TALKING!" She screeched.

"Sounds more like yelling to me…" Kiba pouted.

Ino groaned "You ruined my flower! You took it from me you asshole!"

Kiba once again interjected himself "Woah, woah, woah! DUDE! You BANGED HER?" He screamed in disbelief, only to be greeted by two steely, horrifying glares.

"NOOO!"

She screamed and lifted her fist at Kiba, who stepped back out of the doorway.  
Far enough away to not get hit but close enough to listen to what the hell was going on.

Ino and Shino recomposed themselves after that very uncomfortable accusation.

"No, that flower was my Yamanaka family wedding flower, they're found in the mountains where my clan is originally from! Every Yamanaka woman gets one, they're very rare and very VALUABLE!"

she accentuated the word valuable by pointing in his face, which Shino did not appreciate.

"I apologize, Ino. The overwhelming scent in your store made me light headed, I'm very sensitive to strong, sweet scents. It makes the kikaichu over stimulated, flowers in particular."

Ino looked down in angry disgust  
"So, I apologize. I will pay whatever the cost of the damage I caused was."  
He stated finally, assuming he'd given her what she wanted.

"Oh no, no, no. When I said this flower was valuable, I meant PRICELESS. You owe me more than just a paycheck."

The bug ninja felt slightly indignant  
"Well what do you expect me to do, be your slave or something humiliating?"

"Sex slave, wooo!" Kiba crudely commented from the hallway

"Shut up!"Ino and Shino said nearly in unison  
I  
no turned back towards Shino and spoke.  
"My parents are out of Konoha on their second honeymoon, and I'm the only employee at the flower shop. Since they're tightwads, they won't hire anyone outside of the family. So you will be working for me for free until they return!"

Silence filled the room after that statement; all that could be heard were several "OOOOOHS!" coming from the hallway, courtesy of Kiba of course.

Shino struggled to say something  
"I don't know if that sounds like a fair trade." He stated

"Really? Cause it sure felt fair when I was CARRYING you to the hospital!" she retorted hotly and shino felt the sting. A shade of red crept across his face at the prospect of himself being carried through town by a blonde bubbly kuniochi.  
"Oh. My. God. Hahaha no way!"  
They both heard Kiba crack up in the hallway. But this time neither bothered with any kind of response.

"You start tomorrow 9:00 am" she stated.

She then turned sharply and headed out the door before he could protest. Not that he would. She had bested him, and he knew it.  
She pushed past Kiba, muttered something along the lines of "You are an idiot" at him and left.  
Shino sat there bewildered for awhile, until he thought of something he had meant to ask her before she jumped down his throat. What was that gas that the flower emitted when he crushed it? It looked like a lotus, but like none he'd ever seen before. Shizune had said it was poisonous to some insects, but if it was some special girly wedding flower what if it had some adverse effects? He worried to himself as Kiba strolled in.

"Man, that is one crazy chick huh?" He puffed as he took a seat.  
In classic Kiba fashion, he didn't expect Shino to answer anyways so he continued to speak.  
"So you think you're gonna work for her?" he asked, genuinely intrigued at the state his old friend was currently in.

"I think I have to." He said plainly, knowing it was the only way she'd tell him about the flowers effects.

Kiba glanced up in surprise, a playful smile on his face as per usual.  
"Woah man, you'd better be careful with that one. A day together and you're already whipped!"

He laughed to himself, while Shino threw him a sideways glare.  
"Oh by the way Shino, you owe me some flowers man!" He added, with a huge smile creeping across his face.

"That's absurd.." Shino started

"Yeah you didn't come through buddy, so I had to take Hinata out to that pretty pond and pick her some flowers."  
His face was positively lit up, Shino began to realize either he had missed something or Kiba was going insane.

"What's with you today?" Shino asked

Kiba paused for a moment

"She said yes!"

Shino stared silently

"She said yes man!"  
Kiba started tearing up  
"We're, we're gettin' married!"  
He grinned hugely

Shino continued to stare unbelievingly, how had he been so blind?  
The ring looked like an engagement ring because it _was _an engagement ring.  
Kiba's strange behavior all made sense now.

"Congratulations."He said stoically  
Kiba slapped him on the back

"I expect a little more enthusiasm from my _best man_!"  
He announced warmly, Shino was still in shock.

"Will I have to give a speech?" Was all he could come up with.

"Of course! Don't worry, you'll be great!" He chirped cheerfully.

Shino stared at a space on the wall. Not knowing what else to do now.

"Well, I gotta head home and sex up my _fiancée_!" He cheered.  
Shino grimaced as Kiba headed out the door laughing.

"I'm kidding, she's an honest woman! You gonna head home too Shino?"

Shino didn't move an inch.

"No, I think I'll stay."

Kiba eyed his companion, "Okay then, see ya around buddy!"

Shino waited until Kiba left, and then rolled over.  
He was poisoned by a mysterious girly flower.  
He was now an indentured servant to a woman he despised.  
and he was going to be best man at the wedding of his "best friend" to _Hinata Hyuuga_.

He heard a light tapping on the door, and Shizune's soft voice

"Shino, are you staying or leaving?"

Shino just barely mustered the strength to answer.

"Staying.."

She knew by the tone of his voice to let him be, and he heard her shoes click down the hallway.

He sighed deeply and came closer to crying than he had in a very, very long time. He would never admit it, but a tear might have fallen as he thought back to that day.  
The day Hinata's heart had been broken, and she didn't show up to train. The day Kiba sniffed her out before Shino could find her. He saw them through the trees as he held her tight and felt a pain in his chest.

He couldn't help but think to himself

_I should have been the one who found you first, Hinata_

-  
**Surprised? Lol maybe not, but hopefully that explains why Shino's bein such an ass to his bestest friend. That and his bestest friend is a mongrel. I love Kiba :D**

__


	5. Boss Lady: Ino Yamanaka

**Hello Again my lovelies! Did you enjoy my last chapter? Because I was away for so long, I'm going to try and update more often. Like this! I hope you enjoy!** :D

-Boss Lady Ino Yamanaka-

-3Ino Yamanaka3-

She awoke later than usual.  
Styled her hair in its mandatory ponytail, brushed her teeth, put on just a tad bit of makeup and headed out the door.  
No breakfast today.  
She was afraid she might be sick.  
The order had just come in:

400 bouquets of lilies, roses, and cactus flowers?  
Destination: Sunagakure  
"For the Nara wedding"

She trudged to work, with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew he didn't do it to be mean. The business of flowers really isn't one that concerns ninja often, other than funerals, injured comrades, and…weddings. Yamanaka flowers was really the only flower shop in Konoha and of course Suna wouldn't have any flower shops… And who else but the Yamanaka family, would supply a Nara family wedding with flowers. She was destined to get screwed in this deal.

She felt like a zombie, how many things are going to pile up on her, on this, the worst year of her life?  
She sighed and prepared herself for another day of arranging flowers and sitting around alone. She went to unlock the door, only to find it was..already unlocked?  
She pushed the door to the shop open and glanced at the clock, 10:11 am.

_Whoopsy, _she thought _I must've left the door unlocked when I left last night. Nice Ninja skills Ino, geez._

She cut herself some slack considering the past day's events.

_Hmm, I'm a little late for opening. Good thing Shino didn't show up after all. Until I kick his ass that is…_

As she neared the light switch, she heard a rustling in the dark. Her senses peaked and she sensed another shinobi in the shop with her. She whipped a kunai out and threw it at the figure. Suspecting that she hadn't forgot to lock it at all, and that a ninja had tried to rob her! The shadow ducked it and came near the light from the window, she got in position to perform a jutsu when she caught a good look at the intruder.

"Shino?"  
"Yes?" he asked as Ino relaxed from her attack position.

"You scared me!" she exclaimed, glad she hadn't allowed her parents shop to be burglarized.

"You're an hour and eleven minutes late." Shino stated coldly.

Ino stared at him.

"And you attacked me." He continued.

"How did you get in here?" she asked, ignoring his (true) accusations.

"My bugs can pick locks." He answered

"Ugh, gross." She walked over to the light and switched it on. "and why didn't you turn the light on?"

"I didn't want to mess with anything, I don't mind the dark."

"Weirdo.. but you're cool with breaking in?"She retorted, as she began her rounds switching on the rest of the lights. She glanced at Shino, who said nothing. "Idiot.." she mumbled as she took a better look at him. He was wearing a medical mask.

"No, you're not wearing that!" She insisted, striding towards him.  
"You're going to scare off the customers!" she reached for it, but Shino stepped away.

"I feel it is medically necessary." He stepped back further as she pursued him.

"No! You look like a mad scientist, Shino!" she argued, "We'll open all the windows, get some fans, and..here, wuss." She walked over to a set of drawers in the back room; she emerged with a strange concoction.

"We have herbal remedies for every kind of allergy, here I made this one a while back for this weak, old, asthmatic woman who shops here. Should work for you." She smirked only slightly. As she walked to the coat racks and tossed him an apron. A _yellow_ apron. She grinned as soon as she was out of his view, at least she could torture this creep. Finally an unhealthy and fun way for her to let her anger out!

She headed towards her office, to sulk over the fact that she will be undoubtedly meeting with Temari and Shikamaru soon. Anyone who orders 400 bouquets is going to want to make sure they're getting what they want. She heard Shino's voice behind her

"Wait, I have a question to ask you."

"what?" she asked angrily, wanting nothing more than the comfort of her head against her desk.

"What did that flower do to me when it emitted that pollen?"

Ino looked at him questioningly, wondering what side effects he was worried about. She smiled and decided the best way to get over her strife was to mess with him further.

"So you're starting to notice them huh? Try not to worry about it too much, it only makes it worse."

"Worry about what exactly?"He asked with slight urgency in his voice

"Tell you what, I'll tell you when you're done working for me. Take off your mask and put on the apron."  
She snapped, laughing on the inside at her clever ploy.

"You're mad, I of all people should know." He piped up; actual worry bubbling through his usually calm voice.

It was then that the customer bell attached to the door rung. The two shinobi looked up to see two other shinobi staring back. They were assaulted by brightly clashing colors, it could only be Naruto and Sakura. Ino stared blaringly at the two and turned to Shino. She did not need this right now.

"No. I'm just tired, I'm going to my office. You handle this. And put on your apron please."

Shino gave her a death glare if there ever was one, but his protests were cut off by Naruto.

"HEY SHINO! Who're you buyin flower's for?" He yelled.

By the time he noticed she was gone, It was already too late. Ino was tucked away in her office, on the brink of tears at all that was going wrong in her life. She thought of Sasuke's death again and started to cry lightly. Then she thought of Shikamaru, and his bride to be Temari. She thought about being at the wedding, alone like usual. She thought of the ceremony, the vows, the kiss. It was all too much.

_Nara Temari  
Temari Nara_

She began sobbing as she realized how well the name fit. It was so much better than Ino Nara. She was so much better than her. She felt for some strange reason, that her only consolation was that on the other side of the door Shino was going through his own hell too. Nevertheless, the tears came and Ino sank into her desk.  
Yep. It's good to be the boss.

- Shino Aburame -

Shino cringed as he slowly turned back towards the waiting couple. Knowing this is how everyday working here was going to be. People being shocked and then cracking up that he, Shino Aburame would be working in a flower shop, arranging pretty flowers in a yellow apron.

Wait, WHAT?" Naruto jeered "You're WORKING here? Haha why?"

Shino flinched and slowly tied his apron on, really no sense in lying about it now.

"Yes, unfortunately." He answered quietly

He looked up to see Sakura had approached the desk as well; she had a forlorn look on her face. She was looking towards Ino's door. Shino understood her circumstance, it was no secret Ino and Sakura's once close relationship had been strained since Sasuke's death.

"Hello Sakura-san." He offered, out of slight sympathy

"Hello Shino," she replied "Times must be tough, huh?" she asked gesturing towards his apron

"You know Shino, if you're hard up for cash I could butter the kazekage up for ya to get you more missions!" Naruto suggested, Shino supposed he thought he was being helpful.

"No, I'm fine. I simply owe Ino a favor."

This piqued Naruto and Sakura's interest, just as it had Kiba's. It's not often that two ninja not of the same team or friend circles come in to contact outside of the battlefield. People sometimes assume things, especially when they're of the opposite sex. And especially when one starts mentioning favors, Shino quickly amended himself.

"More like a debt actually, strictly business."

The couple stared back at him, Naruto grinned  
"Riiiight.."

"What can I help you both with." Shino said unenthusiastically, ignoring Naruto.

"Oh, well I.." Sakura stammered, sounding more like Hinata than herself. "I kind of wanted a word with Ino, to be honest."

Shino stared, glancing back towards her shut door wondering if it was locked. He hesitated until Naruto piped up

"And a bouquet of cherry blossoms for milady of course!" Naruto ordered up, with a sideways glance at his girlfriend. Sakura smiled "Why thank you, sir."

Shino hesitated for a second more before realizing either way he had to get Ino. Sakura wanted a word with her, and Shino couldn't arrange a bouquet to save his life. He wondered to himself if Naruto had given him no choice on purpose, hoping he wasn't that smart. He sighed and made his way towards the office, finding the door unlocked he opened it to find Ino headfirst on her desk.

"Whaaat?" She groaned at him

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, sleeping on the job. But when she moved to turn away from him he noticed something was wrong. The desk in front of her was covered in dark droplets and her voice sounded stuffy. "What do you want?"

"Uh," Shino shut the door behind him. "Naruto wants a bouquet of cherry blossoms." He decided not to mention that Sakura wanted to talk with her. It would do nothing, in the state she was clearly in. he certainly wouldn't want anyone to see him cry.  
She shuffle around the office, preparing the dreadful bouquet skillfully. Shino shifted his weight from one foot to another, feeling uncomfortable being around someone who was so emotionally volatile.  
She finished up and handed it to him, he nodded a thank you and walked out. Quickly shutting the door behind him. He approached the couple and Sakura's face fell slightly, she knew what he would say before he said it

"I'm sorry, Ino isn't feeling well."

"It's okay." She looked down and half smiled

"Here" Shino handed her the flowers, which made her perk up a little bit as Naruto grabbed her hand.

"Thanks Shino." They both said, leaving the shop hand in hand. With just the slightest bit of suspicion aimed at this new pair. Ino Yamanaka and Shino Aburame working together just didn't make any sense.

After they left, Shino opened all the windows, and turned on a fan or two. Then looked over the concoction Ino had given him, not wanting to try it. But then he thought of Ino crying in her office and figured it wouldn't hurt to comply just this once. He took off his mask and was quickly overwhelmed with the scent of the flowers, although slightly less deadly with the fresh air mixed in. He read the instructions provided and rubbed the substance below his nostrils. It burned at first, but once it had numbed out he began to feel better. He could breathe just fine without the mask now. He looked the bottle over once again. Only slightly impressed at Ino's knowledge of herbal remedies.  
After the said adjustments, time passed slowly. Ino stayed holed up in her office all day, either due to shame or due to her own depression. And Shino sat alone in the storefront with just his unpleasant thoughts of his teams upcoming wedding to comfort him.

**Depressing, huh? Man, these two are getting shit on. But I love them, I really do!** **See ya next time!**

__


	6. Teammates and Lunch Dates

**Lol. Do they have phones in Konoha? I say if they have t.v.s/computers and walkie talkie radios then they can have phones. Just old school house phones though, chord and all.**  
**Enjoy!**

-3Ino Yamanaka3-

The next day began in much the same way as the last.  
Few words were exchanged between either worker, flower's were arranged, and one or two customers were helped. Ino was relieved to have some of the burden of work lifted from her shoulders. It'd been ages since she'd had a moment to herself, but despite all of Shino's help she still didn't seem to have the time to train.  
Or at least that's what she told herself.  
She sat lazily at her desk, picking at a bouquet. She accidentally stuck her thumb on a cactus flower and inhaled sharply. After so much training for so many years, even a week off made her feel slower. She thought about her team, since Asuma had passed they didn't have regularly scheduled practices.  
Her team had taken it upon themselves to meet up at least three times a week to train, sessions that she always made a point to attend.  
She wondered if Chouji and Shikamaru were still meeting up.  
After the attack where Chouji was hurt, everything had changed.  
Shikamaru had told her once that she was just imagining it, and that the more she thought about the worse it would get.  
As usual, he'd been right. Ino had worried herself right out of Tuesday's practice.  
Then eventually Thursday too. She'd held onto that one last practice on Sunday for a long time, until her failed confession to Shikamaru that is.  
She hadn't the heart to spar with Chouji, who didn't trust her abilities anymore.  
And Shikamaru, who she couldn't trust her heart with.  
Luckily, her parents second honeymoon came along around the same time. Allowing the extra work to serve as her excuse. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she really had no right to hate them both for ditching her for the Jounin exams. She hadn't even been there to train with them for it. But no matter what the rational side of her brain said, the other side remained angry at them.  
She trained better alone anyways… she thought to herself, thinking of all the harsh training she'd been putting herself through. She'd noticed marked improvement, even Chouji and Shika had too. But even occasional sessions with her dad weren't enough to trump Shikamaru and Chouji's one on one's.  
They'd learned as early on as their first year at school that the strong ninja trained alongside their team.  
So what does a strong ninja do if they no longer have a team?  
Ino thought long and hard on this and finally decided.  
_  
They find a new team!  
_  
Her head shot up from her desk and she grabbed her address book to try and find a new teammate. Come to think of it, she figured she was destined to find someone. With this radical new two-man team exam, there were bound to be others who got left out. She thumbed through the pages.

_So…  
Who's already a jounin?  
Neji, so that leaves Lee and Tenten which is so obvious._

They'd each individually taken the exam the year before, but like the chuunin exams, few ever passed. They were both terribly injured during it, presumably while together. It was whispered that they had performed admirably, but participants in the exam were generally forbidden to talk about their trials.  
Nevertheless, they were favorites for this year.  
_  
Sakura and Naruto…That's even more obvious_.

Naruto had recently made Chuunin, most suspected it was a favor from the Kohage. But upon closer inspection it was a favor to Konoha, Naruto was more than excited to enter the years Chuunin tournament. But Tsunade thought it best that Naruto, who was tapped to be her replacement someday, shouldn't pulverize a bunch of innocent 12 year olds publicly. She awarded him the title after Naruto and Sakura completed their S-Rank mission of defeating Sasuke, after he'd become a menace to Konoha. After his years of service to his village, no one protested.

_The sand team's all already Jounin…  
_She thought in disgust; of another one-up Temari had on her.  
_So that leaves my worthless team, no good. And then…Hmm, Hinata…_

She thought about the prospect of teaming up with her, she'd never minded the girl and lately she'd grown much stronger. She wondered if she was planning on taking it and whether or not she would turn to her teammates.

_Those stupid jerks probably teamed up and left her out too! _She selfishly hoped.

Then she remembered what Kiba had said about hinata at the hospital, and frowned.

_Oh, yeah. He's in love with her…  
_  
She sighed, assuming they too would probably be pairing up for the exam, if they were taking it. She wondered if any of the people she assumed were taking it even were. It wouldn't hurt to ask, she supposed glancing out her office door. Shino was in view messing about with the shelves or something monotonous. He seemed to only be able to do that kind of stuff, so far he'd proven pretty worthless at arranging flowers or really anything involving a slight amount of creativity. She frowned, Even if Shino didn't have a team for the exam she'd rather ask around first. There was just something about him that creeped her out, even more than the bugs did.  
She shivered at the thought of a human being filled up with bugs.  
_  
He even looks like one…ew  
_  
She thought to herself, as she looked at him in disgust. He hardly even looked like a human all covered up like that. It seemed like he must have felt her hatred, because he turned to stare back briefly. She quickly looked back down at her address book and picked up the phone.

_What better time to start asking around?_

-"=Shino Aburame="-

Shino grabbed another thick stack of papers and moved them over to his lap. He flipped through the pile and sorted each paper into the folder it should have been put into in the first place. He was blown away by the utter lack of organization and thought this family had. Their business could be so much more successful if they just kept their orders organized, who knows how many never got taken care of? He stared blankly at a customer's check from over a year ago that had been lost and not cashed. Not sure how to process such an atrocity, when he felt eyes on him. A feeling he never liked.  
He turned his head to catch Ino staring at him oddly from her office, she looked down quickly.  
Shino continued to stare for a moment, not trusting her for a second.  
What had she done to him?

He'd tried to practice extra self awareness, checking in with his bugs often to see if they'd noticed a weak link anywhere in his chakra or overall health. Each day they indicated that he was just fine, no physical problems. He was puzzled.  
His puzzlement quickly turned to worry. If there was nothing wrong with his physical self, then what was it? His psychological self? Or even worse, his emotional self?  
He wondered to himself for a few seconds. It would most likely make sense that a flower designed for wedding vows would have something to do with love… and since it was hers it would make sense if it invoked a feeling of love towards her…  
He nearly panicked at this realization, then he looked over at Ino. Now on the phone for some reason and felt a deep loathing at such a lazy worker, chatting in her own parents shop, while_ he_ did all the work.  
He then felt a wave of relief, there was no way he would ever fall in love with a girl like that.  
He mentally crossed that out as a possible side effect.  
He looked back towards her office again to see her hang up the phone; she stood up and straightened her skirt. He quickly devised a plan to find out the side effects and stood up as well. She stepped out of her office, seemingly lost in some strange thought, by the look of determination on her face.

"Ino."

Shino started, knocking the look off of her face and instead bringing out an irritated one

"What?"

He hesitated, preparing his lie. Something he preferred not to do, unless absolutely called for. Which he was quickly learning, when it came to Ino, it was absolutely called for.

"I'm starting to feel ill."  
She walked past him, observing his piles of organized papers.

"What? Don't tell me you're trying to get out of working!" she snapped

"No, I'm just concerned about my health." He continued to lie poorly, while she scrutinized his organization system.  
"So what do you want me to do about it?" she answered, half paying attention.  
Shino cringed slightly, he would have almost preferred watching a Kiba and Hinata make out session rather than listen to Ino's callous remarks. Almost…  
He turned to look at her forcefully.

"Tell me what that flower did to me." He willed her  
She glanced over at him, the hinting of a smirk on her features. Shino anticipated her answer as she conceived it.  
She opened her lips and let out those potent words.

"Tell you what, If you can guess what's wrong with you…Then I'll tell you."

Shino was offended at the levels Ino would sink to. There seemed to be no reason for it other than to torture him. No matter how many times he analyzed her situation none of her actions seemed to make sense. For being such a quiet, introverted and respectful man himself, nothing grated on his nerves than someone who was his exact opposite.  
A, loud, extroverted devil woman.

"So, what do you say?" She urged him.

He thought for a second, he thought about all of the things he would just love to say to Ino.  
But, being the quiet, introverted and respectful man that he was, he came up with something else. He tapped into his special skill, developed after years of crushing social awkwardness when the conversation turned to his bugs; changing the subject.  
To something truthful this time, it suited him better anyways.

"I want to be able to attend this year's Jounin exam."

He caught Ino's attention with that one, she turned sharply.

"Oh really? Who're you taking them with?"

"My team."

He stated plainly, not yet knowing of the new rule, he wondered why she would have to ask such a question.  
Ino stared at him quizzically.

"I meant which half of your team?"

"What do you mean?"

Ino continued to give him that look, until it was replaced by one of realization.

"You don't know about the new rule, do you?" She asked curiously, looking devilishly amused.

"What rule?" Shino questioned, a bad feeling creeping up his spine

"They're doing two man teams in the exam this year! Don't tell me you got left out and didn't even know?"

She announced, and was about to laugh at his misfortune when she heard a small squeak. They both turned towards it.

"U-um hi Ino, um Shino.."

Hinata greeted the two, partway through the front door. It looked as if she had been prepared to turn and run away before they'd noticed her. She sheepishly stepped forward.  
Shino stared at her, for several reasons really, but mainly to ask the question that both he and Ino wanted answered.

"Hinata, are you and Kiba taking the exam together?"

She opened and closed her mouth silently, a look of deep sympathy crossing her features. She didn't have the heart to answer, but he knew what her answer was, just by looking at her.  
Hinata and Kiba had already known about the rule, and had decided to take the exam together.  
Without telling Shino.  
These days it seemed like they did everything without Shino.  
He felt the Kikaichu humming lowly inside of him. They too were in great pain, knowing the difficult training they'd been doing for their master had been in vain.  
The three stood there awkwardly for a moment; Shino too dejected to speak, Hinata too sad to speak, and Ino too disappointed that Hinata as a teammate was taken.

"I-I'm sorry Shino!" Hinata finally blurted out, the other two in the room both surprised that she had broken the silence.  
"We only just found out, we didn't know how to t-tell you…"

Shino hid the look on his face well, mostly because his face was well hidden to begin with.  
He didn't say anything for a long while; in fact he didn't want to say anything at all. But then he looked at Hinata and noticed how her eyes were lightly brimming with tears, though she was fighting hard to control them. He nodded at her and caved, how could he not?

"I understand." He deadpanned, as emotionlessly as he could.

All the while, Ino watched this exchange silently; for once she didn't know what to say.  
Hinata, in a strange turn of events couldn't stop talking it seemed.

"I-it's just that, K-Kiba said he c-couldn't stand to see me get hurt…" she faded off for a second under Shino's steely stare. She felt like he had stopped listening at, 'I'm sorry'. But she continued on, either due to nerves or due to her newfound resolve to face her problems head on.

"Especially b-before the wedding." She finished, finally giving Ino her invite into the conversation.

"WHAT? You're getting married?" She slunk over to Hinata with a folder full of what could only be flower catalogs.

Shino welcomed Ino's timely assault; he felt numbness spread through his body slightly. Wondering what in the hell he was going to do now. Ino started talking numbers with Hinata, who seemed like she wanted to get away.  
Shino too, wanted to get away.  
He stood awkwardly in the corner, looking at Hinata under his sunglasses.  
Something he'd often done, ever since their team had been formed.  
He'd always wondered if she could tell.  
As long as he'd worked together with Hinata, he still didn't know all the limits to her byakuugan.  
Namely, he wondered whether or not she used it off the field.  
Sometimes she'd look right at him mid stare, like she knew.  
He preferred not to think about it.  
He couldn't stand the thought of the girl he loved having all-seeing eyes.  
Slowly he stepped back, away from Ino chattering in poor Hinata's ear. He weighed his odds and decided that he may be able to slip away unnoticed.  
As if the odds were ever on his side.  
To his horror, Ino called him over to delegate all of the paperwork to Shino.  
It seemed Ino was the one with eyes in the back of her head.  
Hinata stared bewildered at the order just forced upon her, as well as the fact that Shino was somehow involved in it. He trudged over to grab the file, hoping to be allowed to slink away immediately afterwards.  
Hinata looked back and forth between the two for a moment before Ino answered.

"Oh, yeah Shino's working off a little debt to me." She smiled,  
Shino could feel Hinata looking him over strangely. He wasn't one to carry a debt, especially to someone like Ino.

"Oh… alright." Was all she could say, with a strange look in her eye she glanced at Shino who now had his back turned. Then she looked down and mentioned something about the time. When Ino gave it to her she looked slightly panic-stricken.

"I'm s-so sorry, but I have to meet with my f-father and Kiba. It's very important!" She stammered while heading out the door.  
Shino didn't turn to say goodbye as she took off, he simply threw his arm up at her. Ino waved happily, although Shino didn't know what she had to be happy about other than extra profit. Soon his suspicions were confirmed as her smile slowly fell. She looked over at him

"Well, that was awkward..."

Shino acknowledged the awkwardness that it was, with a nod. Doing what he assumed was preemptively ending the conversation before she started making fun of him. Once again he yearned to slip away and hide out in the back room of the shop.

"I'm sorry. That really sucks."

He moved slightly, wondering if he'd heard those words right. Why would Ino start being nice to him all of the sudden? He said nothing, because he simply had nothing to say. A few nice words against several hundred harsh ones were nothing to him. But still, it made him wonder.  
Ino looked down, biting her lip slightly as if she was trying to stop the words from coming out.

"My team ditched me too."

It hung in the air for a moment. He was surprised by her sudden earnest reply. Not used to hearing her voice sound so damn defeated like that. He realized the consequence of her statement, his brain did some quick calculations:

_Team Gai-Neji=Tenten+Lee  
Team 7-Sasuke=Naruto+Sakura  
Team 8=Kiba+Hinata-Shino  
Team 10=Chouji+Shikamaru-Ino  
Answer: Ino+Shino=Team_

He froze, realizing that in front of him stood his one and only hope to enter this year's Jounin exams. By the look on her face, she suddenly realized it too.  
The two ninja stood there, Shino weighing his options. It was either suck it up now and enter with her, or wait until next year and possibly face the same dilemma. He hesitated, but luckily Ino didn't.

"Hmm, I'm sick of this place. You hungry at all?"

She asked off topic, throwing Shino's thoughts through the wringer. He thought for a second and realized that yes, he was hungry and sick of this place as well. He nodded and followed her towards the door as they took off their aprons.  
Shino realized that neither of them really knew about each other's fighting styles, save for the chuunin exams. As Ino turned her "back in thirty minutes" sign around, he decided that lunch would be the perfect opportunity to test the waters with his new could-be teammate.

-  
**Kind of a long chapter, finally revealing my deeper plans for this story. Like you all didn't see it coming right? It may seem like it's slow going (at least while writing it!) but there will be many more chapters, and eventually some damn romance instead of all this mutual hatred goin on!  
Thanks for reading **


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